Apgujung Restaurant

I came here with a couple of friends for dinner.
We each order different items (all on the Korean side of the menu) and overall I give this restaurant 4 stars for the following reasons
***Atmosphere: Really great, there was plenty of seating and the décor was nice
*Price: Honestly, I think the price is too high for what they serve. My friend ordered the Bibimbob $ 11.95, I had the Kimchi Soondubu Jigae $ 13.75, Seafood Soondubu also $ 13.75
***Flavor: I thought the flavor was just okay… definitely not the best, and a really small bowl of rice.
I will probably come back again (just because I’m really close to the area and I really do like Korean food)

Came here for korean bbq and sushi. The sushi was up to my standards but the korean bbq was complete trash. The meat had clearly gone bad and the waitress blamed it on the seasoning. Bullshhhht. Im not an idiot. They also pay their hostesses under the table. Dunno how legal that is.

Service the 2^nd time around wasn’t that great but the food was tasty. I love the korean BBQ here especially with the royal galbi. Their sides and salads are good. The fried ice cream last time was really good but this time the batter was still doughy which made the fried ice cream taste like cake. I would still come back to this place though for just the korean BBQ.

We went just before closing on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was mostly empty, but service was prompt and polite, the food arrived quickly, and everything was delicious. I had sashimi, my wife had the bibimbap, everyone was very satisfied. The fish was fresh and well-​cut. The dolsot was properly hot enough to caramelize the rice (not like the lukewarm one you’re given in many other places). My only complaint is that the banchan was very sparse, only three dishes, but we’ll definitely go back.

Wife and I decided to try this place on Saturday night. We had heard about this place from a neighbor and my wife wanted sushi.
Parking lot had plenty of space and we were seated immediately. They asked if we wanted to do regular menu or BBQ. We choose regular.
This is where the non service began. The waitress came by to take our orders 5 minutes after we put the menu down. We never had a water glass refill. The appetizer came out 1 minute ahead of the entrees. We literally each just had a bite of the seafood pancake when the bimibap came out. No apology or explanation. Just put the food down and left.
Never came back to ask about the food or if we needed anything else.
The restaurant was not full and it didn’t look like they were slammed.
As for the sushi, we were planning on it, but watching the sushi chefs play games and text on their smart phones most of the time deterred us from ordering.
You could compensate bad service with great food. But this place doesn’t serve great food. It is average at best. The food is better at the H-​mart food court.
My wife and I aggreed that we will not come back to this place. Now, what do I say to my neighbor…

The food was alright, nothing too special but the service was terrible. One they never came by to check if we wanted refills on our drinks. Two I asked the server to give us a refill on the free appetizer as well as an additional sushi roll. Nope never came back with either one of our request, but when the check came it so happens that they didn’t forget to charge us for the sushi we never got! Did I forget to mention they only had one other table to serve and they accidentally gave our sushi to them… good job… I wonder what happens when they get a full house?!

We went for just Korean BBQ for a party of 5. They really skimp out on the side dishes and the sauces for the meats. We had to ask almost 4 times to bring out the same things over and over again. Also we had to ask for our water to be refilled every single time. Many times where we would just wait… For them to bring things out. The BBQ was good we got 2 orders of samgyupsal but that doesn’t require much on their part cause it’s unmarinated meat you just cook it on the grill. We also got I believe spicy pork and bulgogi! The marinade on those were good. but IT is very pricy. If you want to splurge yes… But I don’t think I would be back there again.

Came here for korean bbq. It wasn’t my first time but things seemed to have changed. Waiters and cooks used to be chinese now all staff are korean. Found out they have changed owners and the lady who bought this place was the lady who opened the korean food stall at 88 allston. Sushi was definately a lot better than before and the meats were much fresher and more flavorable than before. Will come back to give other dishes a try. Hoping they will be another good korean restaurant.

We used to love this place in the first year or two that they were in business, but with all the regular staff missing and the quality of food sliding way down hill, we think they may be under new ownership. Sad. It used to be great. But too much mystery meat, and sushi that was mediocre at best means we won’t be back.

I was a little disappointed with this place as a lot of people I know gave it rave reviews. The food itself was ok. we got 2 orders of the bulgogi for the korean bbq and the yukgaejang. We were surprised when the waiter said they wouldn’t serve us banchan (the mini dishes of appetizers) unless we got 2 orders for korean bbq so that’s why we got the 2 bulgogis. I’ve never seen that at a legit korean spot before. The yukgaejang wasn’t as spicy as I’d hoped but it had a decent beef flavor. One of the things that irked me was the waiters wouldn’t let us just cook the meat. They kept coming over and leaning in to stir the beef up and do random things to the meat while it was cooking. essentially interrupting my conversation with my husband who was sitting across the table from me. I guess they don’t like their customers being too hands on with it?
Anyway it was an average experience. nothing noteworthy in terms of atmosphere but the food was decent and I wouldn’t mind coming back again.

This is a nice neighborhood Korean-​Japanese restaurant. The BBQ is great, big portions. Pretty good sushi. Bimbimbap is good. Perhaps not the greatest restaurant around but its fine if you want lunch or dinner in Newton without the hassle of going to brookline or Boston to find the most amazing place.
The waitstaff is nice, if a bit scattered sometimes. I have never seen more that 6 tables sitting at once.
Would recommend for a casual meal

Mediocre at best, a review solely for their sushi and takeout experience.
I ordered take out with my coworkers, and the majority of us got rolls. My coworkers seemed to enjoy their food for the most part — they had a variety of specialty and normal rolls. The girl who picked up the order said that they were making the rolls right in front of her, despite us ordering well in advance due to our large order. As for the quality of the sushi (I got the sushi normal), it was only okay — 7 slices of various pieces, fairly generous. I noted that the salmon literally broke apart in my mouth, but not in the good way, but rather in the been-​out-​too-​long-​and-​was-​decomposing way. The other pieces were fine, but not outstanding at some other places. I also ordered the spicy tofu soup, which tasted mostly like msg to be honest. I believe there was also only one shrimp in here, and was lacking in terms of content.

Some people criticize this place, but their okdol bi-​bim-​bab with beef is outstanding. I could eat it once a week and be happy. The other dishes vary in quality. Our favorites are the tukmandu (soup), the tukboki (rice noodle with hot sauce), and the japche noodle dishes. The sushi is also quite decent, not the best in the area, but good.
But oh, that okdol bi-​bim-​bab with beef… Yum.

Soft shell crab appetizer — tasty coating, but not very crunchy
Yukgaejang (spicy Korean beef soup) — not bad, very strong beef flavor throughout; the other ingredients have a separate taste though, almost as if everything is thrown together upon order and there hasn’t been any time for incorporation
Hwe dup bap (Korean raw fish salad) — the fish really has to shine here, and it just didn’t. It almost tasted like they used the pieces that weren’t quite up to sushi grade and figured the sauce and rice would cover up the flavor. That being said, there’s LOTS of fish in there, so if you’re not quite picky about the taste and are just hungry, it’s a big bowl of food.

under NEW management for about a year.
the food is about the same but the place has a more korean feel to it now. the ddukbokgi is flour, not rice, so it tastes grainy and nasty. the fish cakes still have the frozen taste to it.
i forgot the name but the cucumber wrapped tuna roll is $ 8.95 but only has 4 pieces. total RIP OFF.
they have subpar service.

I came here with a group of friends to celebrate one of my best friend’s birthday. I’ve been to multiple korean bbq’s in Boston over the years and it is difficult to write a particular review for this establishment as this place neither stood out in a both positive nor negative manner.
The food was definitely delicious and the 70-​piece sushi party boat was decorated in a fantastic manner as it was carried to our hungry table. However, the quality of the fish was moderate and I was a bit disappointed by the type of sushi and sashimi selection given that we had spent nearly $ 90 on it. The cost of Galbi and the other meat selection was also a bit on the pricier side (even in Korean BBQ standards), so that was just a bit difficult to chew.
Food: 3 stars (although, the scallion pancakes were a real suprise… still expensive…)
Price: 2 stars
Staff: 3 stars

Came here 2 weeks ago for my friend’s quarter century birthday and I have been here multiple times, come to think of it my 21^st was here too.
This place is big enough for large groups, since they do have a private room in the back, unfortunately the room we reserved couldn’t be used because the heater didn’t work and I definitely wasn’t trying to keep warm from the Korean BBQ grill. But it’s ok though because they found us another spot and the manager brought us a couple of pitchers of cucumber Soju (whats a bday without alcohol, especially free!?!). It was surprisingly refreshing, because I am by all means not a fan of Soju, but we’ll take what we can get!
With a party of 15, we were able try a variety of things this place has to offer from the BBQ to the sushi. For BBQ we ordered the beef bugolgi, beef short ribs, and pork stomach as well as a medley of vegetables to be grilled. For sushi we ordered basically every special roll they had and they have a lot of variety. The BBQ was fresh no dark spots on the meat, no complaints there, but nothing out of this world. The sushi was ok definitely, no WOW factor and looked better than it actually was.
I never crave this food, so I didn’t have much high expectations anyways, plus I’ve been here before a few times. All in all this place was standard for Korean BBQ/​sushi.

They lost our reservation. A bad start to what was meant to be a celebratory meal. They also had a wait for the special tables where you can grill your meats, so we had to settle for a normal table.
It wasn’t until the kids, who were running wild in the restaurant, left that things began looking up. Note to the manager — I watched you approach the parents. Thanks, but please do so sooner next time. (Although I sincerely hope that it was a one time event in the case of that particular family.)
All the items we ordered were reasonably tasty, but we had a bit of confusion when one salad and two miso soups arrived at our table. Ummm… who does this belong to? We were also served several banchan dishes — some spicy, some not. I liked the sweet potato salad.
All the entrees we selected with the exception of the shrimp & scallop teriyaki $ 17.95 were priced somewhere in the lower teens. The beef OkDol Bibimbab $ 13.50 crusted up nicely, but was served sans the customary sauce, which was fine with me since I don’t usually use it anyways. The Dragon roll $ 12.95 was good. And the chicken udon $ 12.95 was plentiful and the noodles fat and slippery in the seaweed broth.
Yes, the rice that accompanies the teriyaki dish was missed by us after the fact, but the server was appropriately apologetic, so we weren’t bugged by it.
Oh, it turns out the salad came with the teriyaki, and the soups were for the two okdols we ordered.

I got a Groupon for this place with the deal of $ 80 worth of food for four people. First off, I do not love the location. For me, Newton is very very far from Cambridge… it took me over an hour to drive here. I was annoyed and pissed off by the time I got there. Not their fault. but still… not the most convenient of locations.
The service is bad. bordering poor. I am not a diva but I don’t appreciate asking for things several times. We had to ask multiple times for water, sauce, lettuce, etc. We were also doing bbq and noticed they did not help us at all with cooking but they did with other tables. We were courteous. maybe it was because they were busy. Next, they told us that we needed to add money to use our Groupon. Apparently we were shy about $ 30. When we ordered $ 30 worth of additional food… the bill came out to be $ 30 in addition to the Groupon we had. Apparently, they lied to us. Ugh… can’t trust the people that work here.
The bbq was okay. reasonably priced. The spicy pork was probably the best thing we ate. The pork belly was frozen so it wasn’t in my opinion that good… the beef was okay. We also got some sushi since we had extra money to use. If you are a sushi snob. which I am. (see I admit it. but I am really not a service snob). you will think this sushi is just okay. Something in the food. not sure what. did make me very sick afterwards.
Not going here again. Food poisoning is where I draw the line.

Korean BBQ is always expensive so I can’t complain about the price. Our friends got a Groupon so it made the cost much more worth it.
The fish was pretty fresh. I bought Salmon/​Cucumber Handroll and the Dragon Roll. If you like shrimp tempura and eel– get it, its pretty good.
Dessert was just the standard ice cream-​2 scoops of whatever you’ll like!
The service was really nice and helpful but they were no where to be found when we needed it.